Auto 251 of 2008

Nature of the Case

In 2004, the Constitutional Court of Colombia decided case T-025, where it declared an unconstitutional state of affairs in regards to the situation of millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the country’s armed conflict. The unconstitutional state of affairs was due to the massive human rights violations associated with systemic failures in the safeguarding of IDPs by the State. In order to put an end to the unconstitutional state of affairs, the Court established a structure for follow-ups that consisted of two types: (1) special proceedings to evaluate the progress made by various state agencies, in which agencies were required to provide periodic reports on their compliance with the Court’s orders; and (2) autos de seguimiento, additional written materials from the court which expanded and clarified the Court’s orders in T-025, with specific focus on groups of persons at greater vulnerability and disproportionately impacted by the internal armed conflict.Auto 251 of 2008 is one of such orders, referring specifically to the dire situation of children and adolescents.

Enforcement of the Decision and Outcomes

Auto 333 of 2015(link is external) found that children continue to be affected severely by the armed conflict. In 2012, the Court reports around 65 children died due to the explosion of field mines, and 43 children died as a result of crossfire between armed factions. Between 2012 and 2013, around 381 cases of forced recruitment of children were reported. Notably, a significant portion of the children affected are Indigenous. The Court found that from 3,918 cases of children affected by forced recruitment, over 500 of those children belonged to Indigenous Peoples. Around 87.5% of regions in Colombia continued to experience issues of forced recruitment of children by the various armed factions. This was exacerbated by the inconsistent information gathering of the national government, as well as the incomplete and lacking response in the face of verified risks to children. For instance, even though in 2011, the national government had identified 118 cases of risk to children, it intervened only in 46 of those cases.

Auto 765 of 2018(link is external) found a continuous low level of compliance by the government in implementing measures to lower the deadly and harmful consequences of the armed conflict and displacement on children and adolescents. It summarized statistics on the effects of the conflict on children: by 2018, 481 children had been victims of mine explosions, 295 children were tortured, 587 had been kidnapped, 1,610 had been victims of forced imprisonment and sexual violence, 6,330 has been forcibly disappeared, 37,434 had been victims of homicide or extrajudicial killings, and 97,349 lived under constant threats of death or serious bodily harm. Of the over 2 million children displaced between 2010 and 2016, only 13,351 had entered programs for specialized support and protection. In 2017, 24% of deaths due to field mine explosions were children.

Significance of the Case

This case attempts to document and improve the conditions of the most vulnerable population in the armed conflict and in displaced settings. Children are particularly vulnerable to violence because they lack the tools to defend themselves and to protect themselves from trauma. Additionally, the deprivation of health, education, food, personal integrity, and other essential rights, is particularly damaging for children and adolescents who are still developing themselves physically, mentally and emotionally.